We spend time in the Low because we're human, not because we're broken.
In the Low is a collection of contemplative words and images for seasons of depression. It is a book designed to meet you where you are and sit with you there the way God does: intentionally and without judgment.
For many of us, the question isn't whether or not we will enter into depression but how to be there when we do. In those low places, we experience disconnection from others, from a meaningful life, and from God, and it can be difficult to know what to think or pray. This is where art and the honest prayers of others can help us name what we're experiencing so we know we're not alone.
In the Low is designed to meet you in the dark and linger there with you as you sit under the weight of depression or despair. Instead of shaming you for how you feel, minimizing your pain, or suggesting quick fixes, Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson offer you prayers in language and imagery that can help you be honest and vulnerable with yourself and with God.
Featuring poetic prayers for deeper relationships, healing from trauma, a hopeful future, and more,
In the Low meets you where you are in your journey and calls you deeper into the heart of God--who is not afraid of the dark.
"
In the Low has a permanent spot on my bookshelf. I'm grateful for the unhurried connection Scott and Justin offer to us through their words, images, and humanity."--
Emily P. Freeman,
New York Times bestselling author of
How to Walk into a Room"Here is a tender guide, not to answers but to the shared humanity of searching, waiting, and finding meaning in the in-between."--
David Gungor,
The Brilliance "I can offer no higher compliment than this: Someone I love dearly picked up this book during a stretch of pressing darkness, and it helped them."--
Shauna Niequist, author of
I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet"As someone who has wanted to end it all in her own season of depression, and who accompanies many others in theirs,
In the Low is the gift I've longed for."--
Tara Owens, executive director, Anam Cara Ministries, spiritual director, and author of
Embracing the Body "Depression has a way of turning prayer into a foreign language, leaving us stammering in the dark for words we once spoke with ease.
In the Low gives voice to those struck speechless by despair, honoring the sacred truth that faith often speaks through the shadows."--
Jonathan Merritt, columnist and author of
Learning to Speak God from Scratch "
In the Low acts as a companion to our seasons of melancholy without rushing us to 'fix' anything. It meets us where we are, as we are. This book resonates deeply within my angsty artist heart, and I'm so grateful it exists in the world."--
Jess Janz, poet and founder of Dinner with Strangers
"Scott and Justin created a hand to hold in the valley, and I'm grateful to the both of them for how warm it is."--
Levi The Poet, spoken word artist
"As I read the honest, simple prayers in this book and let the clear and powerful illustrations do their work on me, I felt: 'This will help, not hurt. This will help make things better, not worse.' You will treasure this book, I predict, and come back to it again and again."--
Brian D. McLaren, author of
Faith After Doubt and
Life After Doom
"
In the Low is accompaniment for the places inside that deserve to be known, the wordless places that need words, the dark and diffuse places that need form and shape."--
Dr. Hillary L. McBride, psychologist, podcast host, author, and mother
"
In the Low is a warm, tender, desperately needed book that doesn't speak
about the ache but from
inside of it. This is the rare work of 'spirituality' that is not abstract, detached, clichéd, or avoidant but instead gives us the language to speak the unspeakable."--
Jonathan Martin, author of
How to Survive a Shipwreck and
The Road Away from God "
In the Low is both simple and subversive, inviting us not simply into peace but fuller personhood."--
K.J. Ramsey, licensed therapist and author of
The Book of Common Courage"Encounter this book on its own terms. Encounter this book at the necessarily slow pace of God. And above all, encounter this book and come to know the joy of the God of the Low."--
Curt Thompson, MD, author of
The Deepest Place and
The Soul of Desire"
In the Low gives us permission to name the ache in our hearts without rushing to fix it. What a relief to discover honest prayers and art that offer a flicker of hope for the dark nights of the soul."--
Kayla Craig, author of
Every Season Sacred and
To Light Their Way and creator of Liturgies for Parents
"Through this book, Justin and Scott offer us words, images, and their own selves in ways that gently dispel that piece of the darkness and give us a sense of companions who see us, know us, and care."--
Donna Hatasaki, senior director of spiritual formation, Young Life
"Dark seasons aren't optional--they're the price of admission for being human. When my ticket gets pulled, this is the book I'll always keep by my side."--
Brit Barron, author of
Should You Still Talk to Grandma?"If the purpose of
In the Low was to create an honest and hopeful collection of words and images, then mission accomplished. Erickson and McRoberts have truly given us a helpful companion to carry as we slow down and sit with what life has become."--
Tanner Olson, author and poet
"Poignant and powerful. These words and images offer a simple but stunning h
